Lion King Ooshie found during beach clean up, Sea Shepherd claims

Ooshies versus Little Shop

The Sea Shepherd group claims volunteers have found Woolworths Ooshies and Coles Stikeez collectibles on the beach.Credit: Facebook/ Getty Images

Environmental group Sea Shepherd has raised the alarm on the Woolworths Ooshies craze, claiming one of its volunteers found one of the collectible Lion King toys on a beach.

Woolworths has responded by imploring its customers to take the toys back to the store to be recycled if they no longer want them.

Watch the video above: Ooshies versus Little Shop

In a Facebook post on its Marine Debris Campaign page this week, the activist organisation shared a picture of its volunteer holding one of the Lion King collectibles on Narrowneck Beach at the Gold Coast.

But a Woolworths spokesperson said the Lion King Ooshies were to celebrate the release of the new Lion King film and were "built to be durable for families and fans to treasure for a long time".

It said it has "a partnership with TerraCycle to turn any pre-loved Ooshies into recycled products such as garden beds, fences and benches".

Recycling option

"If a customer receives a Lion King Ooshie and changes their mind or no longer wants it, they simply need to drop the Ooshie back to their local Woolworths store and Woolworths will send it to TerraCycle for recycling," the spokesperson said.

It comes just a fortnight after Sea Shepherd posted an image of a volunteer holding Coles Supermarkets Stikeez! collectibles he claimed to have found during a clean up of Perth's Jindalee Beach.

"At the time they were launched, Coles stated that were 'designed to be kept and not disposed of'. So Coles can you please explain how our onshore volunteer Danny found these?' the group asked on its post.

A Coles spokesperson said the supermarket giant takes its environmental responsibilities seriously and unwanted Stikeez could be recycled.

"As a business, we are committed to recycling and minimising waste," the spokesperson said.

"The Stikeez mini collectables were designed to be kept and customers were able to recycle the wrappers at their nearest store through our in-store REDCycle program."